A former Korean trade minister credited with clinching a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States said Tuesday he has accepted the ruling party's offer to run in April's parliamentary election.
Kim Jong-hoon, 59, served as South Korea's chief negotiator for the Korea-U.S. FTA that was signed in 2007 and ratified by the parliaments of both countries at the end of last year. He also served as trade minister from 2007 through 2011.
"I recently received an offer from the Saenuri Party to run in the general election and I replied that I will accept it if it will be of help to the party," Kim told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
He declined, however, to specify a constituency, saying it is up to the party to consider its needs.
Sources within the party, formerly known as the Grand National Party, said Kim is likely to run in his hometown of Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, or as a proportional representative based on his expertise in trade.
In Korea, each political party winning more than five constituency seats or more than 3 percent of the vote is given additional parliamentary seats proportionate to the total number of votes it garnered nationwide. (Yonhap)